Embark Upon a Transformative Weekend of Embodied Healing

Imagine arriving at the elegant Hilton Syon Park on a summer Friday evening. In your room, a complimentary nscience yoga mat is waiting — a symbol of the weekend ahead. Outside, the grounds shimmer in the golden light. The River Thames meanders past, the historic Syon House stands nearby, and a tranquil lake mirrors the evening sky. Soon, you’ll join fellow practitioners on the hotel’s riverside terrace, connecting over drinks and conversation as the sun dips low.

This is not just another CPD event. It’s an immersive retreat — a chance to step away from the clinical consulting room, from the demands of daily practice, and into a carefully crafted space of renewal. Over two days, internationally recognised trauma specialist Stacy Ruse, LPC, ERYT-500 invites you into an integrative journey where therapeutic yoga, polyvagal-informed practices, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) converge in deeply experiential ways.

Here, professional development and personal restoration are not separate goals, but partners in transformation.

Why This Retreat Matters

As therapists, healers, and guides, we spend our days supporting the nervous systems of others — helping them regulate, reconnect, and reclaim their sense of safety. We speak eloquently of protectors and exiles, of polyvagal safety, of co-regulation. We encourage our clients to pause, to breathe, to listen inward.

But when was the last time we gave ourselves the same gift? When did we last feel polyvagal safety in our own bodies, or meet our inner parts not as abstract constructs, but as living, breathing companions?

This retreat closes that gap. It is as much for you as it is for the clients you serve.

• Polyvagal theory will not remain a diagram on a page but will come alive in your body as you sense how breath, posture, and sound can shift you from protection into connection.
• IFS principles will unfold through yoga, guided visualization, journaling, and embodied inquiry, allowing you to meet and befriend your own internal system with compassion.
• Therapeutic yoga becomes the bridge — a practice that integrates regulation, creativity, and embodied presence, renewing not only your clinical practice but your whole self.

Research shows that trauma recovery is not purely cognitive. Studies on trauma-informed yoga (van der Kolk et al., 2014; Cramer et al., 2018) demonstrate how embodied practice reduces PTSD symptoms, while IFS research (Hodgdon et al., 2022) highlights the measurable impact of parts work on trauma resolution. This retreat brings those worlds together in a living, breathing experience.

A Journey Beyond the Ordinary

Led by Stacy Ruse, LPC, ERYT-500 — IFS Clinical Consultant, EMDR Consultant, and internationally recognised trainer — this two-day retreat is designed to be:

• Experiential: Through yoga flows, somatic movement, breathwork, and ritual, you’ll discover first-hand what it means to embody safety, connection, and Self-leadership.
• Restorative: Gentle practices like Yoga Nidra, guided imagery, and sound-based rituals invite your nervous system into deep states of restoration.
• Transformative: By blending clinical frameworks with creative exploration, the retreat equips you with both professional tools and personal insight.

This isn’t simply learning about polyvagal theory and IFS. It’s living them.

Core Learning Themes

• The Polyvagal Map of the Soul
  Understanding nervous system states, koshas, and gunas as pathways toward wholeness and liberation. A revolutionary framework where ancient yogic wisdom converges with modern neuroscience.
• Meeting Inner Parts with Compassion
  Integrating therapeutic yoga, breathwork, and IFS-informed inquiry to connect with protectors, exiles, and Self-energy through embodied practice rather than conceptual discussion.
• Embodied Rituals for Transformation
  Guided meditation, partner practices, journaling, and group rituals designed to anchor healing, deepen integration, and open pathways to resilience.
• Sacred Play & Creativity
  Weaving in sound, movement, song, and expressive practices that reawaken joy, spontaneity, and authentic connection — often the very qualities trauma dampens.
• Coming Home to Self
  Cultivating resilience, joy, and inner freedom through restorative yoga, Yoga Nidra, and embodied Self-led living.

Your Transformative Weekend Experience

Across two days, you will move between structured clinical learning and immersive personal practice. The rhythm alternates between grounding, insight, expression, and restoration — ensuring both depth and spaciousness.

Day 1: Embodied Nervous System & Self-Energy

Morning Session

• Opening Circle & Arriving Ritual: Breath, grounding, and intention-setting to create sacred space.
• Experiential Talk: The Polyvagal Pathways of Safety & Connection: A lived exploration of how autonomic states shape wellbeing.
• Practice: Nervous System Nourishment Yoga Flow: Gentle, breath-based movement sequences designed to regulate and integrate.

Afternoon Session

• Partner Practice: Co-regulation Through Presence & Expression: Learning embodied co-regulation as both giver and receiver.
• Exploration: Meeting Inner Parts with Compassion: Guided journaling, visualization, and inquiry to connect with inner landscapes.
• Closing Practice: Restorative Yoga Nidra for Safe Haven: Deep relaxation that restores a sense of inner refuge.

Day 2: Trauma Healing, Creativity & Soulful Integration

Morning Session

• Arriving Practice: Sound, Breath & Gentle Flow: Humming, sighing, and fluid movement to awaken natural healing responses.
• Embodied Workshop: Trauma & Resilience Through an Integrative Lens: Blending IFS, polyvagal insights, and somatic psychology into practical frameworks.
• Practice: Yoga for Integration & Resilience: Movement and breath sequences that foster titration, Self-energy cultivation, and safe embodiment.

Afternoon Session

• Creative Ritual: The Wasteland & Renewal: An IFS-inspired guided imagery and journaling practice that explores barren inner landscapes and pathways to renewal. Structured worksheets anchor these insights into embodied healing.
• Partner/Small Group Practice: Witnessing Self & Parts in Community: Holding presence and parts in connection, practicing deep listening and compassionate witness.
• Closing Ceremony: Collective Healing Ritual with Breath, Sound & Visualization: Anchoring Self-energy, joy, and resilience for the journey ahead.

Exceptional Weekend Elements

This retreat has been meticulously designed to offer value that extends far beyond the training room:

🌿 Complimentary Yoga Mat — Your own nscience Academy mat to support continued practice.
🍷 Friday Evening Networking — Gather with international colleagues on the riverside terrace (pay-your-own refreshments) to begin the weekend in community.
🎨 Saturday Guided Poetry & Creative Expression Session — An optional one-hour evening practice weaving words, imagery, and embodiment as pathways of integration.
🏞️ Serene Surroundings — Lakeside walks, riverside paths, and the historic Syon House nearby offer contemplative space between sessions.
🏨 Exclusive Hotel Discounts — Reduced accommodation rates negotiated especially for nscience delegates.
🎥 Complete Video Recordings — All sessions professionally recorded so you can revisit and integrate the practices in your own time.

Every detail has been chosen to create not just a training, but an experience: restorative, collegial, and deeply human.

An Investment in Your Professional and Personal Renaissance

• Early Bird: £299 (save £50)
• Regular: £349

This investment includes:

• Attendance at all sessions
• Lunches on both days
• Your personal yoga mat
• Full video recordings for ongoing reference (1 year access)
• Structured worksheets and practice protocols
• All retreat activities and materials

Open to psychotherapists, psychologists, counsellors, yoga teachers, healers, and seekers ready for profound renewal.

Seize This Extraordinary Opportunity

This retreat is Stacy Ruse’s only hands-on UK offering in 2026. It is your invitation to step away from the demands of daily practice and into a weekend of embodied renewal, professional depth, and joyful connection.

When was the last time you invested not just in your work, but in yourself? This retreat offers both. Reserve your place now — and discover how professional excellence and personal renewal can beautifully converge.

© nscience UK, 2025 / 26